


life support

by stjimmys



Category: Graceland (TV), Graceland - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Character Death, HIV/AIDS, you have the right to punch my in the face for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 01:00:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stjimmys/pseuds/stjimmys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike is in the hospital for a disease problem.  And for some reason, the nurses decided to place another teenager in the room with him after the months he's been 'locked up'. Should be interesting-right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	life support

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  'dont ever let me write sad fanfic,' i echo as i fall out the window.

[life support]

\---

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a blood-borne virus typically transmitted via sexual intercourse, shared intravenous drug paraphernalia, and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), which can occur during the birth process or during breastfeeding. HIV disease is caused by infection with HIV-1 or HIV-2, which are retroviruses in the Retroviridae family, Lentivirus genus.

\---

It was one of those days where you don't do what you really want to do-stay inside. Well, that's what all the kids would be saying at the hospital. But, alas, they are in a hospital, it's raining outside, and Michael Warren-a sixteen year old boy stuck in his gurney with a Morphine drip stuck into the crook of his arm. He kept his eyes on the window, pupils following the drips down to the sill until they landed with a splat.

The knock at his door made his turn his gaze to an open doorway, making him tilt his head in confusion. "I don't get any visitors." And he was correct about that. He never did. His parents and siblings rarely came to the hospital to see him, and when he did get visitors it was from the nurse or the doctor asking him if he was comfortable.

He never was, technically. His T-cells were depleting by the second, but so painfully slow that most days he spent his time walking around the hospital with his IV drip. 

But instead of a visitor, one of the nurses came in, leading a boy in front of her. He was tanned, much darker-skinned than Mike. His hair was a bit spiked, black. He wore something similar to Mike-not exactly a hospital gown, but clothes plain enough to pass as them. The nurse sat him down at the bed beside Mike, mumbling something about how they would get along fine. The door shut, and he was left alone-with someone he didn't know.

"'Sup, kid," the teen beside him looked over at Mike, rubbing his nose with hand for a moment. "May as well forget formalities. How'd you get stuck here."

Mike was speechless. "I...uh..." He blinked at the boy next to him. "I...well, doesn't everyone have the same thing in this wing?"

"What, HIV? Yeah, I'm pretty sure," he smiled a tad. "But how'd you get it."

Mike blinked again. Who did this kid think he was? "What's your name?" He sighed.

"Paul-but you can call me Briggs. And you would have known that if you listened to those cute nurses that walked me in," Paul smiled and turned, sitting cross-legged in the bed and facing Mike now. "And your names Mike, they told me already-" he let out a couple coughs, then regained his composure. "So-how'd you get it?"

Mike swallowed tightly, and sat up. "I...I think I got it from my mum," he looked over at Briggs. "How'd you get it?"

Briggs shrugged. "Somehow. I don't remember how anymore," he smiled. "What do you kids do in here, anyway? I mean...doesn't it just get boring sitting around all the time?"

"It does...but I'm used to it..." Mike looked away and out the window. He hoped to God that Briggs wouldn't ask about family. 

"And what about your family? Like, siblings, mum, dad? What about them?" Briggs sat up. 

Mike winced. "They don't like to come visit me..."

"Ah...sorry, kid." Briggs out his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, walking over and putting a hand on Mike's shoulder. "Don't worry. Same here."

Mike wiped his eyes and looked up and Briggs. "Really?"

Briggs shrugged. "Yeah. They don't really care about me much anymore. They know I'll die, they don't care when. They just want it to get over with-" he coughed to the side. "-I'm in temporary life support. I get it at night, so I can be awake during the day."

Mike looked over at Briggs and reached up, patting his hand lightly. "I'm...I'm sorry..."

Briggs shook his head, turning his hand and giving Mike's a squeeze. "It's okay." He pulled away and sat back down on his own bed. "So...what do you do for fun?"

\---

A few nights went by before Mike was placed on temporary life support like Briggs. It was terrible, at first-well, Mike was terrified about what would happen while he was on it-a wire would break, the system would spark. Any way he could die.

Briggs-who at the time wasn't on the support because his parents were stopping by every now and again to complain to the doctors about how they needed it to be stopped-was beside him in the bed, holding him in his arms and trying not to cough into Mike's face. He was in pain, but he didn't show it to Mike-he wouldn't dare. The kid was scared all to hell, he couldn't make him worse.

"You're gonna be okay, kid, you'll be alright," Briggs hushed him as Mike let out a cry in his sleep. He ran his hand through his hair, trying his best to sooth him. "It's alright, shh, you're gonna be okay."

Mike stirred and opened his eyes, looking up at Briggs. He broke into a cold sweat and Briggs wiped it away from his forehead. "Wh-what happened..."

"Nothing, kid. You're on the temporary life support...I'm just sitting here with you. Don't worry." Briggs smiled a bit, swiping a stray hair off Mike's forehead. "It's okay. Don't worry."

"You should be on yours-" Mike let out a cough of his own, covering his mouth quickly. "It's night time."

Briggs gave a shrug. "Doesn't matter to me right now. I'm more worried about how you're holding up with your body plugged in."

Mike tried to crane his neck towards Briggs' bed but the curtain was pulled, and upon looking around-the curtain was completely enveloping the both of them in Mike's bed-completely unseen, entirely undetectable. He looked back up at Briggs who was still looking down at him, smiling lightly.

"I...Briggs?" Mike spoke up, his voice almost breaking as he spoke. He wouldn't have asked this if his dad was in the room, and he was even more thankful for the privacy that the room provided. "Can I...can I ask you a question?"

Briggs gave a nodded. "Of course, kid," he ran a hand through Mike's hair again, making him close his eyes for a moment. It was so comfortable and calming, his fingers brushing against his scalp an his hair flopping lightly with each move of his hand. "What is it?"

"Have you ever liked someone before?" Mike sounded like an innocent child. "Like-"

"A boy?" Briggs blinked, still watching him. His hand had stopping its movements and was now grazing his cheek. He gave a small nod. "Yeah. I have. Still do, sometimes."

"On who...? I've never seen...you around anyone else..." Mike drew in a breath, leaning slightly into Briggs' palm as he ran his thumb against his cheek. 

Briggs just smiled and leaned forward, brushing his lips against Mike's own. "Take this as a hint." He whispered into Mike's lips, eyes closed and all as he pressed his lips deeply into Mike's.

It wasn't anything he thought it would be like at first. He expected Briggs' lips to be rough, an chapped-the kiss would be rough and fast. But he was dead wrong-from what he could guess, the kiss must have lasted at least a minute or so. 

Briggs' lips were soft, slightly damp from many times wetting them in worry of Mike's terrified screams for help in his dreams. He could feel something like sandpaper against his cheeks, making him wince at the feeling and-somehow-kiss back into his lips. He didn't know what he was doing. He'd never done it before.

But it felt good-no, great. Wait, no-not even close. Amazing. 

\---

It's been a few weeks now, since Mike was put on the life support at night. He never saw Briggs at night, except for before he drifted off with his body in Briggs' arms and his hand going through his hair.

It was one night in particular that Mike wasn't given his life support, which was strange. He didn't exactly like it but he felt slightly safer with it on, keeping him alive. "Briggs?"

There was a snore and then silence. He was asleep already. Probably on his life support. Mike stood up and went around his curtain, bare feet against the tiled floor as he walked over to the doorway. It was open, and hushed voices made him cringe-his parents.

"We just don't think he'll survive long enough for us to even see him-please. Could you just remove it?"

"Look, ma'am. We can't simply take off his life support. It's impossible."

"I don't care if it's impossible or not, we're wasting good money on that disease of a child and we want to stop! Right now!"

"Sir, please..."

Mike stepped back into the room. His father. Out of everyone, he didn't want to face his father-not now. He rushed over to the curtain, going around it and crawling into Briggs' bed. "B-Briggs...they want to take my life support away..." He wrapped his arms around him, shaking. He paused.

"Briggs," Mike kissed the back of his neck, trying to stir him. "Briggs, wake up," he felt his worry rise in his stomach, and he shook Briggs' shoulders quickly. He was facing away from him, but he wasn't moving. He wasn't...doing anything. "Briggs, get up...get up, please..."

Nothing. Mike let out something like a cry and shook him harder. "Briggs, wake up! Please, please, please! Please...please, Briggs, wake up, please..."

Mike kept on shaking him, not looking up towards the side of the bed for the life support machine that wasn't there.

\---


End file.
